All posts tagged "Animalwelfare"

No matter how humble or obscure, all plant, animal and insect life in America is eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act, one of the most far-reaching and important conservation statutes in the world. Arachnids, birds, corals, crustaceans, flatworms and roundworms, mammals, reptiles, sponges, trees, algae ... all species, great and small. The ESA turns 50 this month, and if beating extinction is the measure, the law has been a success. Of the more than 1,600 U.S. species listed for protection since the act's inception, 99% have been rescued from the oblivion of extinction. And......

SAN DIEGO — A three-day rodeo scheduled for Petco Park in January is prompting complaints about animal cruelty from the county Democratic Party and animal rights advocates. They are lobbying San Diego officials and the Padres to cancel the event, which would be the first rodeo ever at Petco and the first within the city since one at the sports arena in the 1980s. If the event isn't canceled, critics want the City Council to approve an ordinance banning the use of animal torture devices during rodeos. The Padres said in a statement that the team has been assured by the group running the rodeo t......

SEATTLE — Malie the kitten was living in a foster home on Maui when the deadly fires forced her foster mom to evacuate, leaving her unable to care for the 10-month-old cat. The brown-haired, hazel-eyed kitty was flown with dozens of other felines from Hawaii to the Seattle area, to be taken in by multiple organizations. Just days after her trip, Malie is now in her new home, as are most of the Maui cats who arrived at Seattle Humane last week. All 17 were adopted over the weekend or are pending adoption, the animal organization said Tuesday. As Maui residents fled wildfires this month that kil......

PHILADELPHIA — All five meerkats at The Philadelphia Zoo have died this month after an apparently accidental poisoning that is under investigation by both zoo officials and animal welfare groups. Rachel Metz, the zoo’s vice president of animal well-being, said necropsy results were still pending. But zookeepers suspect the poisoning was linked to the dye used to differentiate the near-identical meerkats. Zoo management has launched a probe alongside the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Something different happened and we don’t know what that is,” Metz ......

NEW YORK — A New York City carriage horse was euthanized two months after his caught-on-video collapse on a Manhattan street sparked outrage from animal rights advocates, according to the farm where it had been relocated. The horse, named Ryder, fell to the asphalt on Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen on Aug. 10 in front of crowds of bystanders, video shows. Ryder’s carriage driver was seen whipping the horse and yelling for him to get up before police and veterinarians arrived to cart the horse away. Ryder “was recently humanely euthanized due to his medical condition and age,” said a statement ......

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The staggering, oppressive heat wave that has brought the Bay Area to its knees has caretakers of farm animals getting creative in their efforts to keep their charges relatively cool. Most farm animals don’t have the luxury of escaping the heat inside air conditioned barns, coops or houses. Instead, they rely on shade, plenty of water and whatever methods humans can think of to ease the pain. Sheila Murphy, who owns Alma Bonita Animal Rescue in Morgan Hill, has started putting ice in her pigs’ mud puddles, which the pigs find delightful. Her horses are a bigger concern. “Ou......